Electronic Signature Laws & Regulations - Portugal

The use of e-signatures and certificate-based digital signatures is common in Portugal, easing the contracting process in a digital environment. Qualified electronic signatures (QES) are regularly used for public procurement and various e-government services, however the use of QES is still evolving in the business community. Because of this, Portugal’s administrative courts are familiar with the laws regulating electronic signatures (e-signatures).

Next to the eIDAS Regulation, the key laws in Portugal that regulate the use of e-signatures include:

1. Decree-Law 12/2021 ensuring the execution of the Regulation No. 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market in Portugal;
2. Law no. 96/2015, of 17 August, governing the availability and use of electronic platforms for public procurement; and
3. Portuguese e-Commerce Law Articule 25.

The general rule in Portugal is that contracts may be concluded electronically, and such contracts will not be deprived of legal effectiveness or validity on account of having been concluded by electronic means. For documents signed using a QES, the court will regard the statements contained within the document as confessions of the signatory unless there is evidence that the QES was forged. Documents signed using non-qualified electronic signatures do not automatically carry any special probative value and their evidentiary value will be assessed by the court. However, use of non-qualified e-signatures as a means of: (i) electronic identification; (ii) demonstration of integrity; (iii) correction of data origin; or (iv) evidencing the moment of the electronic document may have such force provided such means is adopted by the parties under a valid agreement on the probative value or accepted by the person to which it is opposed.

Unless otherwise required by law, a person cannot be forced to contract electronically and the option to use a traditional handwritten signature should always be available.

In Portugal, all citizens are issued a Cartão do Cidadão (national electronic ID card) which includes a qualified digital certificate. Portugal has also implemented Chave Móvel Digital (mobile eID solution) which also includes a qualified digital certificate. The Professional Attributes Certification System allows public servants and directors to associate their professional, corporate or public attributes with their personal national eID card or their Chave Móvel Digital (mobile eID solution), allowing these public servants to sign documents in their public capacity using their personal qualified digital certificate to create a QES.

Special Considerations

Transacting with public sector entities

In Portugal, only State trust service providers recognized by the Portuguese State Electronic Certification System may provide trust services to the government entities and to the services and bodies of the Public Administration. Additionally, Portuguese law mandates use of a QES within the scope of public procurement proceedings and in a variety of e-government services. Public servants and directors who associate their public attributes with the QES included in their eID card or mobile eID solution, may sign documents in their “public capacity” using a personal QES.

Use cases that generally require a traditional signature

The following contracts are excluded from the general principle of admissibility of electronic contracts and therefore require the use of a handwritten signature:

1. Contracts governed by family law or by the law of succession;
2. Contracts for which the law requires the intervention of the Court, public entities or other entities exercising public authority, namely when such intervention conditions the production of effects in relation to third parties, and contracts for which the law requires recognition or authentication by a notary;
3. Contracts regarding real estate, with the exception of leasing; and
4. Contracts for suretyship granted and on collateral securities furnished by persons acting for purposes other than their trade, business or profession.

For contracts that must be executed before a notary, there are certain formalities in Portugal regarding document archiving that are not compatible with the execution of contracts by electronic means.